I live with my boyfriend in NYC. We have a pretty decent sized apartment (for NY,) but the best part of it is the backyard. Of course, the problem with our backyard is that it is entirely dirt free. Totally. Concrete. There's also a tin-roofed carport that blocks light from much of the space. Sometime last year a friend of ours got us a cheap compost bin that we set up in a corner of the concrete yard, but without a garden it was just an elaborate kitchen waste disposal system.

We really wanted a garden this year. We talked through a lot of options in the spring, including a brief discussion of building raised beds along the walls of the yard and filling them with dirt. It was the math (over $400 dollars just for the dirt in such a system) that dissuaded us in the end.

Then I found this book, and it changed our gardening lives. (Seriously. It is an awesome book, and one I think any urban gardener should own. It goes beyond gardening, too, and has instructions on fermenting, sprout growing, and yogurt making. The focus is totally on those with a lack of space, and it's a boon to anyone living out of an apartment. But I digress.)

We decided to follow the guide in that book to a DIY earthbox out of plastic storage containers. Now, the book doesn't contain a step-by-step photo process, but does spell things out a little more clearly than I'm about to.

Step one- Early June. Assemble materials. We cut the lid of the container to fit inside it, about 1/3 of the depth up from the bottom, with a corner cut off the allow the pipe to pass through. We also purchased a pond basket from a garden center to sink into the bottom of the container. We made some legs for the lid out of scrap 2x4s to prevent it from collapsing. We used a length of PVC pipe for the watering tube. *NOTE* PVC has a tendency to leach chemicals. Next year we plan on replacing it with either copper or bamboo. Since this was an experiment, we went with the cheap option this time around (and frankly, I'm sure the non-organic super-market veggies are still worse for you.) The pipe is cut at an angle at the bottom to prevent clogging in case some dirt should get into the reservoir.

Step two- We put the lid-on-stilts contraption into the bottom of the container, and drilled a series of small drain holes right below the level of the lid. This will prevent the water from making the base layer of dirt all soggy. The goal is to make strong and hardy plants by forcing them to sink deep tap roots toward the hole in the middle. These drain holes also make it impossible to over-water. Ideal for the twitchy gardener!

Step three- We installed the basket in the middle of the container, and the PVC pipe in its corner. With a stroke of frugal genius, we taped part of a plastic shopping bag around the pipe to create a seal and prevent dirt from getting in. Then we filled the basket with dirt, and gave it a good water.

Step four- We filled the boxes to the top with dirt. This step is not cheap- nice, non-miracle gro dirt is expensive, and it took about a bag and a half per container. Then we planted seeds! Our experimental garden this year was a row of yellow wax beans in each container, with cucumbers as the other row in one box and okra in the other.

Step five: Give it a good water on top, wait for magic. We kept watering the top (aided by copious amounts of rain this June *grumble grumble*) until we had some healthy little sprouts, then we switched over to watering through the reservoir only. Here's the naked little box under our topsy turvys (another fine investment for the small space garden.)

And then we waited. My BF has been topping up all our containers with compost periodically, and the plants seem to like it. Our composter looks like it wouldn't hold much, but we've been filling it for a year and a half, and the decomposition rate is really fantastic; it's still less than half full:

A few weeks later:The beans totally loved the wet season. The okra was a little less happy, but once we started getting a little sunshine they perked right up. Not pictured is the box with the cucumber, which grew just a little more slowly than the beans. And the tomatoes seem to like the topsy turvy, huh?

Now:Cucumber box:Seriously, the beans have taken over, and the tomato is poised to destroy Tokyo with its massive size. The cucumber has about a million blooms, and the okra is growing into baby trees (no flowers yet, but its thinking about it.)

And we had our first bean harvest yesterday! About a pound of delicious beans came off the plants, and there's at least another pound that'll be ready to harvest in another couple days. And more that are still growing!

It was totally worth the cost in dirt just to see these miraculous plants grow from seeds to fruit. And it really proved to me that a small space is no excuse not to have a garden.

I read the whole thing! I live in a teeny-tiny house, but we're in KS and dirt is abundant! I love gardening and have a good sized one at the moment. Your garden is absolutely beautiful and the plants are growing wonderfully! One big advantage to watering from the bottom, as you are, is that you are not getting soil-born diseases moisture to grow on top of the soil and you are preventing water from splashing onto the leaves and transmitting the same disease. You have a beautiful oasis!

oh my gosh this is perfect! the drain holes(to prevent over watering like I tend to do) and the fact that this is encased are perfect for my front garden. We have problems with snakes so I can't really plant much for fear the copperheads will take up residence. as a result our house tends to look neglected and abandoned. This would work great and you could replant something else in it when the summer plants die down. Those topsy turveys are great too I'm going to have to get some of those. Thanks so much for posting about this project I think I might be inspired.

I was wondering do you put anything between the plastic base and basket and the bottom of the container is is this left empty for more drainage?

Oh this is such a great idea. I was watching a show about a company that mass produces herbs and the owner was talking about the importance of watering the plants from below. This earthbox waters from below and is small and compact. Enjoy your crops

i, myself, have a black thumb, but my mom is very talented with all things plant-related. she's always looking for fun new ways to grow small crops of veggies so i will be passing this along! thanks so much!

I was wondering do you put anything between the plastic base and basket and the bottom of the container is is this left empty for more drainage?

The space between the former lid and the bottom of the container is the reservoir. When you go to water your plants you'll pour water into the pipe until the reservoir starts to overflow through the drainage holes. It takes a lot of water... several gallons at a time to start... but then you just top it up once and a while and stop watering the dirt from above at all. I hope that was what you were asking.

I was wondering do you put anything between the plastic base and basket and the bottom of the container is is this left empty for more drainage?

The space between the former lid and the bottom of the container is the reservoir. When you go to water your plants you'll pour water into the pipe until the reservoir starts to overflow through the drainage holes. It takes a lot of water... several gallons at a time to start... but then you just top it up once and a while and stop watering the dirt from above at all. I hope that was what you were asking.

Yep that's what I was wondering! Thanks so much for the info! I think this is totally something we could do.

This is awesome! Your plants look so happy! I have a similar problem: lots of concrete where all the sun is and nowhere for food to grow. So I am going to have buy that book/follow your tute and try this next year (landlord's kind permission permitting...I don't think he'll care). Thanks for sharing!

omg, that's awesome!!! I'm totally getting that book!! We live in a townhouse near downtown Dallas and I have a small piece of dirt that lazy residents like to let their dogs pee on (arg!!!) and there's a huge patio that we all share (but no one uses??)

Omg i am absolutey in love! This isn't just a great idea for people with no space this is a great idea for anyone who doesn't have good soil in their yard or don't want to the spend the money (expensive like you said) to make a raised garden.

We have a yard but I think I am going to do this in the spring. Brilliant

I just ordered that book through amazon and I can't wait for it to come in. I'd never even heard of container gardening until I read this post. All your plants look so great! I finally have a decent balcony this year that gets a ton of sunlight. I'll definately be trying this earthbox idea when spring gets here, and i'll be using your photos as a reference if you don't mind. haha.

Thank you for your amazing tut and pix! I have the spring fever really bad and this has sparked my enthusiasm for playing in the dirt. Last year we lost almost everything to the new local groundhog - we live right in metropolitan Cleveland and the groundhog was a bit of a novelty until mass destruction took place. I think these boxes, along with floppy fences, may help us retain something from the garden this time! Plus, I can use the concrete and deck space to our advantage. Thanks again, and happy growing to one and all!

Wow - I'll be showing this to my other half and might just have to give this a try - I have some guava seeds I've been saving and have been hesitant to start them and unsure how (I live in Arizona where it hits 100 by May and often 110 through Septemmber).

I've done something similar, but I used an upturned plastic water bottle (500ml size) turned upside down with the bottom cut off as a watering tube. For things where I was transplanting seedlings I turned the used compost bag into a plastic mulch to keep the water from evaporating too much. Ugly in March, but soon covered by plants.

I think your garden is great - but, you're getting POUNDS of beans? OMGWe have a backyard garden - including beans - and while I am reconciled that we will have an abundance of tomatoes (DH makes a mean spaghetti sauce) I am not overly-fond of string beans.Wonder if I can adapt a three bean salad recipe to one bean?

I read the whole essay also, it was more interesting than you think. I have put this tutorial in my favorites and will definitely do this this planting season. I was able to get your link to the book to work and will definitely buy it. It sounds like there is a lot of good stuff in it. However, I tried to use the topsy turvy tomato growers and the things disintegrated and I wasn't able to get any tomatoes to grow from it. Glad you did, I am beginning to think I have a black thumb, so far the only crop that has grown for me was yellow squash, tons of it. I donated it to the soup kitchen. HaHaHa